Destination Bahl
He made his debut as a director with Chillar Party (he co-directed it), but Vikas Bahl became a force to reckon with once Queen hit the screens. Bollywood has wholeheartedly heralded him as a director to watch out for. So when news of his next project filters in, it’s worth noting. It seems Bahl’s next project is titled Return Gift, and stars Shahid Kapoor and Tabu. Rumour has it that the film is set during a destination wedding.

Creature comforts
The trailer and poster of Janaki Vishwanathan’s Yeh Hai Bakrapur created quite a stir, not least for its attractive poster—of a goat in sunglasses—and the name of the goat. Shahrukh, found in the markets of Bidar, was regarded as quite the star on the set. While the human actors were not privileged enough to have spot boys on this independent film, the goat did. And even though he was “occasionally bad tempered, everyone became quite fond of him,” says Chennai-based Vishwanathan. Yeh Hai Bakrapur, a political satire that also stars Anshuman Jha, Amit Sial and Asif Basra, is Vishwanathan’s first Hindi feature film. Her debut film, Kutty (on the issue of child labour), won her a National Award in 2001. As for the star goat, Shahrukh is now enjoying his time away from the limelight, at the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.

Good vs evil
Juhi Chawla is enjoying accolades for her role as the conniving politician Sumitra Bagrecha in last week’s release, Gulaab Gang. But it took a long time for Chawla, once known for her lovable bubbly onscreen performances, to agree to play a character far removed from her image. “It took me almost six weeks before I agreed to the part. I went through a range of emotions including ‘are you crazy’ and ‘why should I stick my neck out to do a role like this’. But then I saw the director’s point of view—that it’s a sparky, zingy role; it’s grey-black,” says Chawla. She also thought, and rightfully so, that Madhuri and she acting together, with herself as a villain, would be a casting coup. “I was happy to try; what did I have to lose?” For now though, Chawla is recovering from the loss of her brother, who passed away last Sunday. Just last week she said to me, “Family is the most important aspect of my life. Maybe I value my family more because I have lost some of my closest ones.”

Creature comforts
The trailer and poster of Janaki Vishwanathan’s Yeh Hai Bakrapur created quite a stir, not least for its attractive poster—of a goat in sunglasses—and the name of the goat. Shahrukh, found in the markets of Bidar, was regarded as quite the star on the set. While the human actors were not privileged enough to have spot boys on this independent film, the goat did. And even though he was “occasionally bad tempered, everyone became quite fond of him,” says Chennai-based Vishwanathan. Yeh Hai Bakrapur, a political satire that also stars Anshuman Jha, Amit Sial and Asif Basra, is Vishwanathan’s first Hindi feature film. Her debut film, Kutty (on the issue of child labour), won her a National Award in 2001. As for the star goat, Shahrukh is now enjoying his time away from the limelight, at the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.

Out in the cold
In the film industry, when people say a film is ‘thanda’ it means there is no buzz around that movie. That seems to be the case with the Sonam Kapoor-Ayushmann Khurrana starring Bewakoofiyaan, releasing this Friday. They play Mayera Sehgal and Mohit Chaddha respectively, a couple in a contemporary slice-of-life film, which seems to pivot around an old-fashioned father, played by Rishi Kapoor. Khurana’s Mohit is a marketing whiz, Mayera is a financial brain and her father is the cantankerous thorn in their rosy romance. And with Kapoor in the lead, a fashion statement cannot be far behind, so her Mayera is depicted as a career woman with a shoe obsession! This “recession comedy” is directed by Nupur Asthana who earlier made Mujhse Fraandship Karoge. Let’s see if
industry-watchers are right about the film being ‘thanda’ or whether it will win the battle for viewers
against the T20 World Cup.